Quarterbacks will Battle in Preseason

Mike Singletary said Thursday at the end of a seven-day stretch of OTA practices, the decision on who will start at quarterback will likely linger into the exhibition season.

“I think we’re going to go into preseason. I’ve said it all along,” Singletary said. “The sooner the better. But, we’re going to continue. I’ll talk to Coach Raye. I’ll talk to (quarterbacks coach) Mike Johnson. We’ll just continue to look at it, and when we feel that a decision needs to be made, then we’ll make it.”

Alex Smith’s play forced the coaching staff to hold off on a decision until the staff can see both quarterbacks in exhibitions. It will certainly add spice to training camp and more meaning to preseason. The 49ers open their exhibition season with the Broncos at Candlestick on Friday night Aug. 14 at 7 p.m. and then play the Raiders at home eight days later again at 5.15. One would think the 49ers would what to cruise into their third preseason contest with the starter declared.

Singletary’s tactic on Monday seemed to work.

Singletary also said Thursday that the last three practices were good and that the team got into a rhythm. On Monday, a frustrated Singletary halted practice and forced the entire team to run three liners after the starting offense played poorly and then slumped off the field dejectedly. Singletary thought the offense quit and that’s why he interrupted practice.

“The last three days, I think we built on each practice,” Singletary said. “We had good tempo. Practice moved really fast; there were not many mistakes. There were not many offsides penalties. Everything kind of flowed. We still have a long way to go, but the three practices we had are more of what we need to build on going forward.”

Singletary also said he liked how quarterbacks coach Mike Johnson has handled his group. He also said he hired Johnson 15 minutes into their interview together.

Singletary also said he almost made first-round draft pick Michael Crabtree cry. Singletary found him running routes during the first minicamp and admonished him for running before he was cleared by the medical staff. Crabtree is recovering from off-season foot surgery.

Singletary recounted the conversation he had with his prized rookie.

“‘I’ve got nothing against you. I’m not angry or anything. I just want you to know, you have to do everything the doctors want you to do so that you can get better.’ I said, ‘I’m not worried about what you can do.’ I said, ‘I know. We drafted you at No. 10. We know what you can do. We just want to make sure that when you come out here, you’re ready to go.’ So, he’s done the things that he needs to do, spending a lot of time with (receivers coach Jerry] Sullivan. I know Jerry is excited about what he’s seeing as well.”

Crabtree has started sprinting and should be ready for the start of training camp.

The 49ers resume next week with their final two OTA practice before they break until training camp, which will likely begin at the end of July.